Articles in this section

They met, fell in love, and were nearly torn apart in a country where LGBTQ people are increasingly persecuted.
Nadia and Rana in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 2018. (Gabriela Bhaskar)
When Nadia met Rana at a 7-Eleven in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, it was love at first sight.
Nadia, (...)

A wave of arrests, state-sanctioned discrimination and public hostility has struck terror into the gay community. Rights groups and LGBTI activists now warn that the situation could deteriorate even further ahead of national elections in April.
Amanda, who identifies as bisexual, whispers (...)

LGBT rights rally in Jakarta (Matamata Politik)
Pasti Liberti, Jakarta – We’ll just call him Teguh, who along with Hartoyo and his friends are active with Suara Kita (Our Voice), an organisation fighting against discrimination and for the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (...)

Dozens of men attacked two waria (transgender people) in Bekasi, West Java, on Monday night.
An activist who requested anonimity who knew the victims well said one of them had just arrived at the scene at around midnight for a gathering with fellow transgender people, while the other victim (...)

Jakarta — The Cianjur regency government has asked all regency mosques to present sermons on the dangers of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and HIV/AIDS at Friday prayers this October 19.
The instruction by the regency government to all sub-district heads was contained in Cianjur (...)

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia — The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has responded positively to the call by the Cianjur regency government for mosques to give sermons at Friday prayers on the dangers of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT).
The MUI believes that the call is appropriate because (...)

A charming mini-documentary shows one transgender man in Indonesia’s spiritual journey.
God’s Best Script was produced by Yayasan Gaya Nusantra. The Indonesia-based NGO shot Vincent Santosa’s journey as part of its Mainstreaming Sexuality Project.
The project introduces diverse genders and (...)

Transgender women in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province are losing their jobs and incomes in the wake of police raids that saw several beauty salons shut down.
Several salons in northern Aceh remain closed more than a month after the raids, and some trans women who worked there have fled to (...)

The incident happened amid a crackdown on the LGBT community in the Muslim nation.
Indonesian police forcibly cut the hair of a group of transgender women and made them wear “male” clothing, authorities have said, amid a crackdown on the LGBT community in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority (...)

The majority of Indonesian people still perceive the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community negatively, but many of them believe its members deserve to live in Indonesia, says a study released on Thursday.
The survey, commissioned by Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani (...)

Hundreds packed mosque’s courtyard to witness the canings in Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practise sharia law.
Two Indonesian men were caned on Tuesday in front of a jeering crowd as a punishment for gay sex, in a first for the Muslim-majority country where there is mounting (...)

LGBT groups say the gay community in Jakarta has been subject to an unprecedented wave of discrimination and attacks.
Indonesian police have arrested more than 100 men in a weekend raid on a gay sauna in the capital Jakarta, a day before two men are to be publicly flogged for having same sex (...)

Landmark court case this week is likely to determine the success or failure of draft laws currently before parliament.
Chi Chia-wei will find out on Wednesday if his decades long fight to make Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage has been a success.
Chi, 59, a (...)

While other Asian countries make progress on LGBT rights, an unexpected wave of bigotry and anger broke out in Indonesia last year.
A few nights ago Sudarsa received a text message from his ex-boyfriend Hendro. “I can’t sleep because I’m missing you,” it read.
The pair had been together for seven (...)

The ban targets apps that promote “sexual deviancy”.
Indonesia is planning to ban gay-networking apps, in the latest demonstration of the country’s growing intolerance toward the LGBT community.
A government official confirmed that authorities are already moving to block at least three apps — (...)

Minister: LGBT Movement More Dangerous than Nuclear Warfare
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Defense Minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, has labelled the emergence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) movement in Indonesia as a form of a proxy war to subtly undermine the sovereignty (...)

In this file photo Indonesian transvestites perform a dance for small change in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia’s attitude toward transgenders is complex. Nobody knows how many of them live in the sprawling archipelagic nation of 240 million, but activists estimate 7 million. However, societal (...)

Jakarta Globe - November 18, 2010
Nurfika Osman, Jakarta — Many transgenders are finding little sympathy from the government as they struggle to obtain vitally important ID cards.
The national ID card, known as the KTP, is required for everything from getting a driver’s license and applying for (...)

Perempuan Mahardhika (Free Women) National Network Statement - September 28, 2010
The attacks by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) against the two-week International Q! Film Festival which opened in Jakarta on September 24 is a violation of basic human rights and threatens democracy in (...)